By Sammy Rozenberg - It was a rematch that was four years in the making. A packed Las Vegas crowd at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino saw Manny Pacquiao (45-3-2, 35 KOs) win a clear unanimous twelve-round decision over Marco Antonio Barrera (63-6, 42 KOs).
The win was far from the beating Pacquiao gave Barrera in 2003 when he stopped him in eleven, but he still won with little to no trouble in a one-sided fight. The scores were 118-109, 118-109 and 115-112 for Pacquiao.
Barrera, in what was billed as his retirement sendoff, was content with fighting at a slow pace and going the distance. For unknown reasons, Pacquaio fought at Barerra's technical pace and thus he allowed him to survive.
There were moments where both fighters would exchange hard punches, but only in spurts. Barrera looked old, and very cautious as he stalled to pull the trigger when there were openings. Neither fighter was hurt or close to being knocked down. Pacquiao showed Barrera a lot of respect by not rushing in with a reckless nature. Barerra appeared to lose his temper in the eleventh round when he hit Pacquiao on the break. Referee Tony Weeks deducted a point from Barrera for the foul.
After years of giving so much to the sport with his warrior spirit, Barrera rides off into the sunset.
Barrera began his career in 1989 at 111-pounds and along the way won titles at 122, 126 and 130-pounds. Even with the flat finish, Barrera had a remarkable hall-of-fame career. The wins over opponents like Kennedy McKinney, Erik Morales, Naseem Hamed, Paulie Ayala, Enrique Sanchez, Jesus Salud, Jesse Benavides, Agapito Sanchez, Frankie Toled and Johnny Tapia have given him status as one of greatest fighters to come out of Mexico. [details]
The win was far from the beating Pacquiao gave Barrera in 2003 when he stopped him in eleven, but he still won with little to no trouble in a one-sided fight. The scores were 118-109, 118-109 and 115-112 for Pacquiao.
Barrera, in what was billed as his retirement sendoff, was content with fighting at a slow pace and going the distance. For unknown reasons, Pacquaio fought at Barerra's technical pace and thus he allowed him to survive.
There were moments where both fighters would exchange hard punches, but only in spurts. Barrera looked old, and very cautious as he stalled to pull the trigger when there were openings. Neither fighter was hurt or close to being knocked down. Pacquiao showed Barrera a lot of respect by not rushing in with a reckless nature. Barerra appeared to lose his temper in the eleventh round when he hit Pacquiao on the break. Referee Tony Weeks deducted a point from Barrera for the foul.
After years of giving so much to the sport with his warrior spirit, Barrera rides off into the sunset.
Barrera began his career in 1989 at 111-pounds and along the way won titles at 122, 126 and 130-pounds. Even with the flat finish, Barrera had a remarkable hall-of-fame career. The wins over opponents like Kennedy McKinney, Erik Morales, Naseem Hamed, Paulie Ayala, Enrique Sanchez, Jesus Salud, Jesse Benavides, Agapito Sanchez, Frankie Toled and Johnny Tapia have given him status as one of greatest fighters to come out of Mexico. [details]
Comment